Over the course of a two-day workshop, 106 participants from forty aid organizations met in Amman, Jordan to discuss best practices and the merits of different digital tools for solving data collection and analysis challenges encountered in humanitarian environments. Eight companies presented their respective mobile data collection (MDC) tools, offering product demonstrations and the feedback of aid practitioners using these tools in the field. The workshop also functioned as a forum for aid actors to share and brainstorm around the day-to-day obstacles they face in the field to inform how MDC tools can be improved to better operate within field conditions and better meet the needs of aid actors. Beyond addressing fundamental data collection and management needs these discussions also explored how to ensure data security, turn data into actionable knowledge, improve the visualization of data and the interoperability of multiple platforms.

CartONG and iMMAP organized the workshop with support from NGO Solidarités International and the generous sponsorship of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). The Amman NOMAD workshop included expanded participation from major aid agencies, nearly twenty additional organizations, than the previous workshop convened in Paris, France in 2013. Overall, attendees reported a high level of satisfaction with the information and usefulness of the workshop (76 per cent responded they were “completely” satisfied with another 20 per cent reportedly “fairly” satisfied with the event).

One quarter of the aid actors participating in the workshop had still never used digital or smart-phone-based tools for their data needs before, and 80 per cent indicated that the workshop had convinced them to adopt mobile data collection solutions and integrate these tools into their humanitarian programming.

Event attendees praised the workshop on Twitter and as part of their feedback:

(Modified Tweet)

“[We] would like to thank the NOMAD workshop-Amman 2016, for the incredible opportunity to learn more about mobile data collection from fellow humanitarian organizations, as well as to introduce OTGINTEL – Mobile App”. (Joana Costa, Al-Thuraya Assist)

“I just want to say thanks so much for the invite and the opportunity to attend and to present at the NOMAD event. I was really impressed with the content of the event but also the turn out, very impressive.” (Brian Healy, RedRose CPS)

Several of the event participants indicated interest in attending future NOMAD Workshops, with as many as 80 per cent of survey respondents supportive of convening these workshops on an annual basis. Presentations and notes from the workshop have been made available on NOMAD’s website: http://humanitarian-nomad.org/amman-2016/ You can download the PDF version of this press release here.